Before you click those links you might consider how your knowledge-hungry brain is preparing for the answers. A new study from the University of California, Davis, suggests that when our curiosity is piqued, changes in the brain ready us to learn not only about the subject at hand, but incidental information, too.

To me, becoming a connected educator is about filling your mind, soul, and spirit with things that motivate and energize you. It’s about connecting with FRIENDS—fellow educators you enjoy talking to about personal and professional things.

The challenge is to ensure each of our organisations has as many people with growth mindsets as possible. These type of people are more receptive to continuous learning. They are critical for organisational survival and growth in a changing world. Without ‘growth mindset’ people, organisations end up providing products and services to a world that is in the past.

Then comes the dichotomy of having an enterprise collaboration platform where no one is sharing, where there are no conversations happening, no debates and questions. It’s a ghost town. At the end of the day, the platform doesn’t matter. The culture of the organization does. An organization with an essentially command and control approach, an overly competitive outlook, and a repressive environment is not yet ready for social learning.

In his new book, How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, And Why It Happens, New York Times science reporter Benedict Carey argues that much of what we’re taught about learning can inhibit, rather than promote, memory retention, creative thinking and problem solving. When it comes to hitting the books, it’s the counter-intuitive strategies that are truly helpful.

It was only by going on sabbatical from what was holding me back that I had the time to build skills to future-proof my brain. Skills like better awareness and absorption of new information. Learning how to learn better. Or building the blueprint to honor my ancestral health. These skills are valuable now … and will be a decade later.